The "The Universal Game Of Baseball" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story written by sports writer John Walk about a young fellow by the name of Dan Kurtz who was born in Seoul, South Korea and at the age of 4 was adopted by a family in nearby New Holland, Pennsylvania.  His lifelong dream was to be a sports broadcaster.  Little did he realize that the current COVID-19 pandemic has helped him toward his dream.  After graduating from Lancaster Mennonite High School in 1998 he returned to his native South Korea and worked as a school teacher.  

Dan working on his site from home.

At the time he set up a website known as mykbo.net which is dedicated to the Korean Baseball Organization for English speaking baseball fans.  At first it served as a message board, but during the pandemic it has gained in popularity, since the only baseball on TV, besides reruns of old-time World Series games, has been Korean baseball games.  Now, the site has gained in popularity with fans in the United States and Dan has become a sort of celebrity.  ESPN Sports Network has been broadcasting Korean Baseball games for the past few weeks and twice Dan has made appearances on games talking with the broadcast crew.  Today, Dan is a stay-at-home dad to his three young children while his wife is in the Army.  They have been on the move recently having lived in Pennsylvania, Washington, Korea, Texas and now back in Washington.  His children are ages 9, 5 and 3, so they keep him pretty busy.  He grew up on a farm in Lancaster County and attended Millersville University while studying in South Korea during the 2000-2001 school year.  It was during that time that Dan attended his first Korean baseball game and fell in love with it.  In John's article, Dan talks about the game and says its almost like attending a rock concert.  

Dan attending a game with his son Landon. Photos from Dan.

The fans cheer, shout and play music no matter if their team is winning or losing or if its the first or last inning.  In Korea baseball is known as "Yagu."  It has to do with having fun and showing a bit of flair on the field like punching out a guy with a strikeout or players doing bat flips after hitting a home run or even a single.  In the United States players would be humiliated if that happened to them and would probably try and retaliate.  Not so in Korean baseball, since it's all part of the game.  He also said that if you are a young pitcher and happen to hit an older batter, you have to take off you hat and bow to the batter meaning you show no ill will towards him.  If not, the benches will clear and a big fight will break out.  Baseball in Korea is based on age and having respect for your elders, as it is in life in Korea.  Dan has maintained his website for many years now and finds it's a way to stay connected with baseball as well as his birth country.  He doesn't make any money on the site, but keeps it active due to his love of the game.  And, he realizes that when the virus releases it's grasp on the United States, and Major League Baseball returns to the tube once again, the amount of hits to his site will probably decline.  He does mention that since the Korean games are played without fans, the games aren't as exciting.  But, if in the meantime, baseball fans can learn more about baseball in Korea, then its all worth it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.